Ever hear of Joannes Seyve? Nope, me neither, but he was a French biochemist who created the Chambourcin Grape that is now grown extensively in the Northeast United States. He came from a family of grape makers, as his father Bertille and brother, Bertille Jr, created other hybrid varieties as well.
The Chambourcin grape is high yielding, and grows well in cooler climates, making it ideal for regions such as the Loire, where there are over 9,000 acres* under vine, but where it is probably best know is it's adopted homeland in states such as New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania and is quite resistant to fungal disease. It has also been used as a parent of the Regant grape that is being grown in Germany and British Columbia.
The grape is supposed to have, and I quote, "herbaceous aromas, combined with excellent structure, a result of their thick skins, high tannins and good acidity". The reason I quote this is because the example I tried of this grape was non of those things. In fact, it was one of the worst wines I have ever had.
From Ulster, Pennsylvania, this wine initially smelled like sweet confected cherries and sweat. There is a little bit of furniture polish as well - Mr Sheen, diet Ribena and plasticine. The palate has a confected sweet element with some terrible, garbage juice flavours with a sugary sweet element on the finish. So bad I wouldn't even call it wine. 51pts
So, Chambourcin has come up a dud, but if anyone reading this knows of a good one, please do get in touch!
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